The present invention relates generally to the rescue of victims of vehicular accidents. More particularly, the present invention relates to a blanket for covering the victim to protect the victim from flying glass or other projectiles such as metal fragments during the process of extrication of the victim from the vehicle.
Currently, when it is necessary to break the windshield in order to remove the victim, rescue workers have covered the victim with rags, tarpaulins, household blankets, or whatever is available in order to protect the victim from flying glass. Needless to say, such coverings do not protect the victim as adequately as desired, i.e., they leave the victim still vulnerable to further injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,957, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a protective sheet of glass-impervious material which is applied adjacent the inside of the windshield of a vehicle to protect an accident victim if the windshield has to be broken to extricate the victim. Such a protective sheet is difficult to install and may not prevent all of the flying glass from reaching the victim.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses body armor comprising (1) an outer shell of thin sheet material such as nylon, cotton, or Gortex, and (2) panels of bullet resistant material such as Kevlar or Lexan attached to the outer shell. Nylon and cotton undesirably allow pass-through contamination of bodily fluids, while Gortex material too easily rips as well as being expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,128, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a soft fire-resistant blanket composed of fire-resistant organic fibers and other organic fibers which are compatible with human skin contact for use by a person escaping a fire.
Various ballistic materials have been used for protective garments, shields, and the like, such as bullet-proof vests, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,437,538; 5,536,553; 5,824,940; 5,327,811; 5,377,577; 5,887,453; and 6,161,462, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a blanket which adequately and comfortably protects a person being extricated from a vehicle involved in a collision from flying glass and the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a blanket which which does not allow pass-through of bodily fluids so that rescue workers are protected.
In order to provide protection comfortably of a person from flying glass and the like during extraction from a vehicle involved in a collision, a quilted blanket is provided which includes a layer of pliable material having a cut resistance of at least about 0.9 kg sandwiched between layers of durable pliable material.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein the same reference numerals denote the same or similar parts throughout the several views.